by Jecilyn » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:42 pm
Did we become complacent? Perhaps we did, after all what were the chances of another quake of a similar scale hitting us again so soon?
The city had been badly damaged and demolition, reinforcing and rebuilding had began. Certainly the constant aftershocks kept everybody on their toes, and we all tried to look ahead, rather than dwell on what had happened. After all, we had been incredibly lucky last time and despite the problems the were affecting a small proportion of our population in the eastern suburbs, life was getting back to normal. Visitors to the city couldn't believe how blase we had become with multiple small quakes everyday, which was out of necessity...
Scientists took the opportunity to study the area, discovering that the area was on a previously unknown network of fault-lines that hadn't been active for over then thousands years...long before anyone settled the country....and they explained things to us as the rest of the country nodded and pledge to help us rebuild.
February 22nd would change everything.
It was around lunchtime when we were subjected to the Earth flexing it's muscles once more. Although smaller in magnitude, the second quake was much more shallow, and the movement created was far more powerful and the ground accelerated far more quickly. Even reinforced structures were not built to cope with such powerful flexing and twisting...especially when it was both horizontal and vertical movement in one.
This time, the city was again badly damaged but made worse by the fact that the people of Christchurch were in the busiest time of day, as building and store frontages came crashing down around them, and onto them. The Cathedral, the very center and heart of this city groaned as the spire and tower gave way, sending clouds of dust through the central square leaving spectators open-mouthed and terrified.
Throughout the city similar scenes were playing out....houses split open like overripe fruit, boulders from the surrounding hills and cliffs dislodging and plummeting down through hillside suburbs, tearing holes through anything in their path. The ground bubbled and groaned as silt and sewage once more forced it's way to the surface and out into peoples yard and through their floors...
The city held it's collective breath as rescue operations swung into action, trying to save those within the buildings who had been trapped or crushed. People wandered around in a daze, wondering what had happened....or in this case, what had happened again. Family members stood vigil at sites for over a week, hoping against hope that their loved ones might be lucky enough to be pulled from the wreckage of multistory buildings.
What followed was a nightmare, uncertainty, fear, stress and ultimately grief as pictures of our shattered city filtered through the news. Historic buildings, monuments, the neo-gothic heart of the city that was a source of so much pride, reduced to so much rubble...and the death toll continued to climb as international Search and rescue teams arrived to aid with recovery.
A state of emergency was declared, and the entire Central business district was shut down....thousands of business were closed, their workers suddenly without jobs. Everything looked very bleak...but we were overwhelmed by the response from other around the country and from around the world. We would recover, we would move on...
Days passed, weeks, and now months....the city remains closed. People have fled, taking their children with them. The tallest building in the city lean precariously and threaten everything within several blocks. Demolition has began, but information is scarce. The government and the appointed recovery body are taking things slowly, unwilling to tell the population how many suburbs will need to be abandoned....unable to be built on again. Insurance assessments are slow in some parts while others have be done and dealt with within weeks. The single biggest insurance event in the Southern hemisphere they call it...several hundred thousands claims have been filed, and the cost of rebuilding is into the billions.
But that doesn't help those who are stuck in limbo, unable to leave and go elsewhere until they know the fate of their properties...will they be able to rebuild? Or will they need to move elsewhere? Any insurance payouts are on hold until decisions are made...and they are a long time coming. Everyone's nerves are shot, and the sanitary conditions are archaic by 1st World standards as repairs slowly progress. Accurate and relevant information is the order of the day, and the 'maybes' and 'we are investigating' does nothing to appease those who are living in broken homes as winter bears down on us.
The aftershocks keep coming...
Then, Japan....we stand and watch as A huge quake hits offshore, sending a tsunami through so many villages and towns...killing tens of thousands. We mourn with the rest of the world, and send our own rescue teams to return the favour. Students volunteers who organised thousands of university students into a workforce are asked to come and do the same in the devastated areas....and although the world's focus has shifted from us, we try to help as much as we can...despite our own city being nearly flattened. It is what we do after all.
It is now June....nine months after the first quake and not much has changed. Politics and bureaucracy still hamper progress, the city remains closed, and will be until at least November. No one is allowed within the cordon unless they have authorization. There is talk of moving up to thirteen suburbs further inland or north, and abandoning those too damaged to rebuild. Scientists still examine the data, and fraudulent forecasters still predict the end times and more earthquake...scaring many and preying on their fears. The city they know and love will never be the same, and it will close to a decade before the city is truly back on it's feet....closer to 3 decades before the scars of these events are removed from our sight and the city rebuilt.
Just what caused all this? Was it simply a one in a million year event...or perhaps there is something else at work? Either way....for now, the people are scared and close to breaking point as the earth continues to shake and heave, as if something were stretching....moving beneath the surface.
Last edited by
Jecilyn on Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
*"Let's not jump to conclusions...."
**"I didn't jump...I took a small step, and there the conclusions were..."